At the beginning of the 2011-2012 season, the Portland Trail Blazers were my sleeper pick to make a run in the Western Conference. I looked like a genius early on as the Blazers won seven of their first nine games. Things quickly turned downhill though as Portland missed out on the playoffs and now enters the off-season with a boat load of needs.

Third time’s the charm, right? After failing in their attempts to land free agents Hedo Turkoglu and Paul Millsap earlier this month, the Blazers have finally landed an impact free agent, agreeing to a reported 3-year, $21 million contract with point guard Andre Miller. (The third year of the deal will be a team option.)

Miller, like a lot of other free agents have found out this summer, learned that this is indeed a buyers’ market. Portland was really the only team with enough cap space able to offer him anything more than the mid-level exception without the 76ers having to get involved in some sort of sign-and-trade deal. A yearly salary of $7 million for a veteran point guard who averaged 16.3 ppg, 6.5 apg and 4.5 rpg last season, and has only missed five games in the last nine years, is quite the bargain.